


Comfort

by ScarletteStar1



Category: Beauty and the Beast - All Media Types, Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Love, OUAT - Freeform, Rumbelle - Freeform, fairy tale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-12
Updated: 2020-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:34:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23117830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScarletteStar1/pseuds/ScarletteStar1
Summary: Thanks for reading. My pathetic shipper heart lives and beats for comments, so if you feel like saying hello, I would adore hearing from you!!!  Do people out there still ship these two? Is Rumbelle still a pairing that has much of a following? I'm rather new to the party. If you have any works you have written and would like to share with me, drop a link in the comments and I will read you too!!
Relationships: Beast/Beauty (Beauty and the Beast), Belle/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold
Comments: 8
Kudos: 14





	Comfort

At first she thinks the high, keening noise in the middle of the night is wind drifting through empty hallways. For several nights, she attempts to ignore it. But it proves distracting enough to keep her from sleep. She creeps from her room and follows the sound, which now she hears is more like a whimper or a cry, up stairs and through many passages until she comes to a large door. 

She stands and listens. Within, she hears Rumplestiltskin weeping. “Bae, oh Bae. Forgive me my son,” he says and goes on to murmur other things Belle cannot discern. 

She puts her hand on the door, but just as she is about to knock, she hears a terrible crash as if he has thrown something in a fit of rage. She races back to her room and dives beneath the covers, but cannot sleep. 

The next morning, she yawns many times as she dusts the great room. 

“Am I boring you, Dearie?” He asks. 

“Pardon?”

“You seem tired today. Something keep you up last night?” He raises a brow and she wonders if he knew she had lurked at his door. 

“Not at all,” she tries to keep her voice steady. “I’m just wanting another cup of tea. Shall I pour you one as well?” He nods but continues watching her as though curious, suspicious even. 

Given his interrogation, Belle suspects she will hear no more in the night, or that he might even cast a spell to make her sleep more deeply. But the nights that follow are no different. She hears him cry out as though completely devastated, and it puzzles her to no end that a beast’s heart can break. 

She begins to rise at night and drift to his door just to sit at it and gently touch the cool wood as if she could offer some strange comfort from the other side. Somehow, as if he knows she is there, he quiets and seems to fall into sleep. When at last all is silent, she creeps back to her room. 

One such night, she grows quite drowsy while curled at the foot of his door. Try as she might to keep herself awake, she falls asleep. In the morning, she finds herself tucked into her own bed and hasn’t a clue how she has gotten there. When she goes down to their shared room, he looks at her with an expression of softened wonder, but says nothing. 

That night, she keeps herself in her own chamber, in her own bed, buried beneath her own covers. When she hears the cries, she puts a pillow over her head and weeps tears of her own. 

“Are you well this morning?” The beast asks her.

“Fine, thank you,” she says although she’s certain it is evident her eyes are red and puffy and much less than attractive. She pours his tea and brings it to his seat. He takes it and covers her hand with his own. His skin is surprisingly warm and soft.

“You kept your own counsel last night,” he murmurs. Her eyes widen instinctively. 

“I am sorry,” she whispers, although she knows not for what she apologizes. 

“No, Belle, it is I who should apologize. My beastly instincts are sometimes not as subtle as would suit genteel companionship. I shall try to remember I am no longer here alone.”

“I- I. . .” she starts and is at a loss for words, but then blurts, “Who is Bae?”

“He was my son. I lost him. Long ago. As I am sure you well know, some wounds do not heal.”

“I am so very sorry,” she says and this time she knows exactly what her words mean. She looks down and realizes he still holds her hand and it is a sweet comfort, perhaps for both of them. 

That night, the castle is quiet. Even when Belle opens her door, she does not hear Rumplestiltskin crying. She starts to return to her bed, but then rushes from her room and through halls she could traverse blindfolded now. Barefoot and shaking, she stands outside his door. She does not sit down, rather presses both of her hands against the door and then her cheek and ear so she can listen. She hears nothing, and yet she knows he is within. Part of her knows she should be terrified, but another part of her does not care. 

She opens the door and steps into his room. A fire blazes. It is warm and the walls dance with shadows.

He lies upon his bed and appears to sleep. 

To his great, curtained bed she tiptoes. Of course he senses her, has probably sensed her since she got out of her own bed. His eyes open. They swirl and shine in the dark at her. “Belle?” He asks. 

“Hush,” she says brazenly and climbs into bed with him. She wraps her arms around him and brings his shaggy head to her chest. Stroking his hair and kissing his forehead she whispers, “It’s alright now. I’m here.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. My pathetic shipper heart lives and beats for comments, so if you feel like saying hello, I would adore hearing from you!!! Do people out there still ship these two? Is Rumbelle still a pairing that has much of a following? I'm rather new to the party. If you have any works you have written and would like to share with me, drop a link in the comments and I will read you too!!


End file.
